In recent days, the United States has shot down three flying objects flying over American airspace, but President Joe Biden admitted that he “did not know what they were”, specifying that “nothing at the moment suggests that they were spying for China or for any other Village”.
One had been spotted over Lake Huron, another over Alaska, and one over the skies of Canada. The hypothesis is that the balloons were linked to private companies, recreational or research institutions “that study the weather or conduct other scientific investigations”. They were pulled down because they “represent a risk to air traffic”.
In a brief press point from the White House, Biden also commented on the destruction of the first Chinese “spy balloon”, which took place on February 4: “I expect to speak with President Xi but we have no excuses to give for shooting him down”.
In any case, the American president clarified, “we are not looking for a new Cold War” with Beijing: “We are looking for competition, not conflict with China”, he explained. With the shooting down of the balloon he wanted to send a “clear message”: “The violation of our sovereignty is unacceptable”.
For its part, Beijing had made it known that what was flying over Montana would not have been a spy balloon, but an instrument for meteorological surveys that the wind would have casually transported over the American skies.
